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Last week Riptide reported on the new digital signs on Lincoln Road announcing that riding bicycles on the pedestrian mall is prohibited between 9 am and 2 am. But at that point, police weren’t actually issuing citations to offenders of the rule passed a few months ago.
That changed yesterday, according to Miami Beach spokesperson Detective Vivian Thayer. Along with new, permanent signs on the Lincoln Road, cops have been directed to start handing out tickets.
See also: Miami Beach Bans Bikes on Lincoln Road, but Cyclists Ride On
In an email, Thayer confirmed that a department major on Monday instructed officers to begin issuing $129 non-moving violation Uniform Traffic Citations to anyone violating the law by riding a bicycle, segway, or skateboard along the pedestrian mall during the prohibited hours. (Which is, of course, anytime except in the middle of the night.)
“MBPD, New signage has been placed along Lincoln Road clearly warning not to ride bicycles, Segway’s, other motorized vehicles and skateboards,” the email said. “We are starting strict enforcement … Please take enforcement action when you observe any of these violations.”
For several days until yesterday, Thayer told Riptide, officers had been issuing verbal and written warnings to offenders, but not actual citations.
“The goal,” the spokesperson said, “is to change the behavior of those in violation and to keep the pedestrians on Lincoln Road safe.”
When we chatted with cyclists on Lincoln last week, many were tourists with slim understanding of the signs or the new rules. The nearby DecoBike stations and the racks on Lincoln with dozens of locked up bikes didn’t help the confusion.
Will MBPD really hand out fines to the dozens of befuddled tourists biking around Lincoln every day? We’ll check in later this week to see how many citations were handed out.
In the meantime, keep your wheels off Lincoln Road unless you want to risk a $129 hit to your wallet.
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